Texas Tech University - La Ventana Yearbook (Lubbock, TX)

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FINALS Pressure causes strange behavior When did you see otherwise normal Tech students go to pieces — totally out of character? During finals week. Finals, that time of year dreaded by veterans who knew the perils of the ensuing days and feared by rookies who had yet to face the harrowing experience. Studying, coffee, sleep and more studying. These are the elements that filled most student days — and nights — as they struggled to catch up or stay ahead for tests that make or break grade point averages and students. Horrified, border-line students await lest results with nails chewed-off and the telltale signs of sleepless nights from staying up to study. Students panicked at the thought of Albertson ' s running out of No-Doz or the Dunkin Donut across from cam- pus being out of coffee or midnight munchies. Midnight escapades for food became essential in hopes of staying awake long enough to take the test. Projects that were put off become of paramount importance, as architecture and advertising students alike prepared for final presentations. During finals week, cartoons were shown in the dormitories in an effort to break tension that was so thick it seemed to be touchable. Those who were noise makers and partiers throughout the year became intent studiers, often yelling Quiet! at those walking down the halls. Cold showers were a frequent occur- rence to wake up students trying to cram as much knowledge as possible into each small brain wrinkle. The uniform of the week became jeans and overalls, as comfort was the issue, not style. And when it was all over, each stu- dent breathed a sigh of relief, not really caring at that moment what the grades were, just glad to be finished with another year and another week of finals. T 28 — La t ' MUaaa

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O i Commencement brings parents and friends together on campus Friday, May 9, 1980 marked what was for some the end, and for others the beginning. It was on this day that some 2,500 students were graduated by Tech. Some moved on to graduate school, but most sought jobs in the already crowded job market. President Emeritus Paul F. Sharp of the University of Oklahoma addressed graduates at the general commence- ment ceremony Friday evening in the Lubbock Municipal Coliseum. Sharp was president of Hiram College from 1957-64, chancellor of the University of North CaroUna at Chapel Hill from 1964-66, and president of Drake Uni- versity in Des Moines. Iowa, from 1966-71. He assumed the presidency of the University of Oklahoma in 1971 and served until his retirement in 1978. The next day, individual colleges conducted ceremonies across campus with the College of Home Economics in the University Center Theatre and the College of Arts and Sciences in the coliseum. Other ceremonies were else- where. At this time, students received their diplomas while parents and friends snapped pictures and beamed at the thought that finally that person had been graduated Graduation is always a time of antic- ipation as well as sadness. Anticipation because of the mystery regarding what lies ahead. Sadness because of the peo- ple, activities, favorite haunts and, even professors, that will be left behind. Nothing in life again will be quite the same. Believe it or not, some of the gradu- ate ' s fondest memories will be of that most hated. rugged professor who refused to accept anything but the best from his or her students. How satisfy- ing it was — and what a relief and a sense of triumph — when we did meet his standards. They said it couldn ' t be done. The sad times also come when saying goodbye to people who have meant so much. Fate may bring old friends together in the future, but graduation was a time for good-byes. Along with friends, we left behind books, f ■ ' ■■ exams and classes. No more w.i No more Tech football and basketball games. No more Red Raiders But each will survive forever in memory. Stu- dents will remember, since these times at Tech were special. Looking to the future, graduates were filled with anxiety. Some did not know where they would be the next day, not to mention the next few years. Many Tech students moved to large cities in Texas and beyond to lake jobs secured through Tech ' s placement ser- vices, unaware of where they were going or whether they would even like it. Many graduates left Lubbock to go to the coast or just go home and take it easy for awhile, believing they deserved the rest after spending four- to-six years in college. Whatever their plans, they mixed tears with smiles at graduation while they endured the millionth picture by Aunt Bess and Uncle Ernest in their mortar board and gown. Parents and grandparents radiated pride as their baby, whom tHey had watched grov up, walked across the stage and received his or her diploma. With laughter and tears, Tech gradu ates bid a fond farewell to the univer sity that had occupied a large portum of their time — indeed their lives — fot the past several years. Now it was on i» bigger and better things waiting ahead from Tech student to Tech Ex. Good-bye, Texas Tech . f